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Texas lawmakers consider bipartisan bill aimed at clarifying exceptions to state’s abortion restrictions

Texas lawmakers consider bipartisan bill aimed at clarifying exceptions to state’s abortion restrictions

Texas lawmakers are considering a bipartisan bill to clarify the state’s abortion ban, as many doctors have expressed concerns that the law is not clear about when they may step in to protect the life of the mother without committing a crime. The state has a near-total abortion ban, but doctors, using reasonable medical judgment, are permitted to take action in cases where a pregnant woman faces a life-threatening physical condition or substantial impairment of major bodily function. Now, the state legislature is seeking to pass a measure to clarify how narrow that exception is, which will give doctors a more clear idea of when they can intervene in situations where there are pregnancy complications. House Bill 44 and Senate Bill 31 are matching bills that have each been introduced in their respective chambers, with the Texas House Public Health Committee hearing testimony on Monday regarding the version in the lower chamber. PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST ASSAULTED, BLOODIED DURING STREET INTERVIEW ABOUT ABORTION “This is not someone who is six weeks and driving to Planned Parenthood because they don’t want their baby,” Catholic Conference of Bishops executive director Jennifer Alman said, according to FOX 4. “This is a woman who very much wants her baby at 20 weeks and having a medical emergency where she has lost her child,” Alman continued. “Even if it’s not fully dead yet, her child is in the act of dying and the only way she can survive to parent her other children is to accept that death, protect her life and that is what the bill seeks to strike a balance of.” The legislation, also called the Life of the Mother Act in both chambers, has brought together major pro-life groups, doctors, hospitals, Republicans and Democrats, said GOP Rep. Charlie Green, who authored the House version. “We know women’s bodies have been horribly injured because doctors and hospitals are afraid to provide abortions that could save their bodies,” Green said, according to FOX 4. “That’s because some of the language in our current law is not clear to doctors and hospitals.” SUPREME COURT DIVIDED OVER STATE EFFORT TO DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD The lack of exceptions under Texas’ abortion ban prompted a lawsuit brought by 20 women, according to FOX 4, though it was rejected by the state Supreme Court. The court also called on the Texas Medical Board to provide clarity for doctors on when an abortion may be permitted under state law. The medical board said its job is not to clarify the law, sending the issue back to lawmakers, the outlet reported. Some who testified expressed concerns that the legislation would allow a loophole in the abortion ban. On the other side, some of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit argue the bill does not go far enough since it does not take into account fatal abnormalities of the fetus. Sarah Harrison said she was pregnant with twins when one of them had a fatal condition, according to FOX 4. “What if I got pregnant with twins again and I have to leave again? The trauma is real. It is real. It’s intense. Of course, I feel scared to get pregnant in this state,” she testified. Rep. Ann Johnson, a Democrat, said: “This bill does not include fetal abnormality. It does not include rape. But it does include a bipartisan approach to try to address the challenges.” “I heard you guys say not sick enough. This bill does an important thing that does say you do not delay treatment. This bill does try to address that delay in time,” she continued. The legislation appears to have enough support for approval.

Big-name anchors going independent, making money in the Substack era

Big-name anchors going independent, making money in the Substack era

Hamish McKenzie, the co-founder of Substack, is suddenly speaking out. “We are living through the most significant media disruption since the printing press, and it explains everything from why you can’t stand your neighbor to our current political tumult.” Today, he says on his site, “we live in a more chaotic environment, where the narrative frenzy of social media has given rise to political movements that gain power through exploiting attention of any kind, positive or negative, from moral panics to fulminating podium-thumpers. We’ve gone from ‘Ask not what your country can do for you’ to dunk tweets and death-by-emoji.” HOW DONALD TRUMP DOMINATES THE NEWS, BOTH POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY Obviously, it’s in McKenzie’s interest to portray a media revolution with him as the chief rebel. When Substack launched in 2017, it was viewed as an intriguing experiment, an outlet largely for those who didn’t have one. But in the Trump era, with his constant cable appearances and Truth Social posts, there’s little question that we’re submerged in a toxic environment. The president gets this, which is why he’s done a number of podcast interviews.  He went on Joe Rogan and Kamala, uh, did not.  Now, with big-name journalists giving up prime television gigs in favor of the site’s independence, we are living in the Substack Era. What was once viewed as the Holy Grail – an anchoring or hosting job on a major network – is now dismissed as old-school legacy media with too many corporate constraints. Take my former Fox colleague Chris Wallace. He left for CNN (actually CNN-plus, which was euthanized in three weeks) and then launched a Saturday talk show. But Chris recently announced he’s leaving the network to go independent, which undoubtedly includes Substack. Another ex-Fox colleague, Megyn Kelly, had a similar experience. Having been dropped by NBC after a bad experience there, she started a daily show and video podcast on Sirius XM, and now has 3.2 million subscribers on YouTube. MICHELLE OBAMA’S ‘IMO’ PODCAST RANKS 34TH ON SPOTIFY PODCASTS CHART Chuck Todd, having been eased out of his “Meet the Press” job, was given an online streaming show. But not long ago he announced he was leaving NBC to go independent.  When Dan Abrams gave up his NewsNation show after three years, he said: “As much as I love this show and the mission of this network, I just can’t continue to give this show the attention it needs and deserves with all of my other professional commitments.” The Mediaite founder later announced that he is concentrating on creating a YouTube channel for the site, working with other media folks. McKenzie’s great insight is that he could connect writers and podcasters directly to their audience, with Substack taking a cut. They can opt for a revenue-sharing agreement. Now you might ask, what if you’re not a famous former anchor or commentator? Turns out that niche sites do really well. They can work at other jobs at the same time. Many users report a six-figure income.  This is especially striking in that most Substack people let you read their sites for free, or a shortened version, with the full column and special features available only for paying subscribers. The hope is that some of the freeloaders will become subscribers over time. Not everyone winds up at Substack voluntarily. Chris Cillizza, the former Washington Post columnist, is quite candid in saying he came to Substack after being laid off at CNN. He found himself with little to do after dropping the kids at school. TRUMP, EYEING 3RD TERM, KEEPS ATTACKING ELITE INSTITUTIONS – AND MANY ARE CAVING “I started this Substack — selfishly — to help me grapple with my changed life. To give me a platform where I could express myself — hopefully to an audience — about the world of politics, yes, but also how I was navigating a new reality.” He has slowly built a following and chats with Todd once a week, which is something that Substackers do. Casandra Campbell of Really Good Business Ideas analyzed the 29 most popular Substacks. The first two are Letters from an American (hundreds of thousands of paid subscribers for political history) and Broken Palate. Michael Moore was No. 3, and the only other names I recognized were former candidate Allen West, the Bulwark, and ex-Labor Secretary Robert Reich. The others had names like Dr. Mercola’s Censored Library, DeLa Soul, The Pragmatic Engineer and The Cryptonite Weekly Rap. “Our political culture now mirrors chaos media culture,” McKenzie says. “Opponents are not just to be argued against, but humiliated.” Good luck changing that. SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES Look, I subscribe to several Substack accounts. I’d like to subscribe to more but, with fees ranging from $5 to $40 a month, it gets expensive. So I read others for free and ponder whether to upgrade. I don’t agree that this is the biggest deal since the Gutenberg press, around 1440, but it’s having an impact on the media and political culture. Substack is hot, and there are competitors, mainly because journalists and politicos crave a connection that goes beyond the craziness of the Trump age. 

IRS and DHS reach historic deal to aid in pursuit of illegal immigrants subject to deportation

IRS and DHS reach historic deal to aid in pursuit of illegal immigrants subject to deportation

EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have come to an agreement to permit ICE to access taxpayer information to locate illegal immigrants subject to deportation.  The Trump administration filed a memorandum of understanding late Monday with a court to create guardrails and a process for ICE requests to the IRS to further investigations of criminal illegal immigrants who have failed or refuse to leave the United States 90 days after a judge has issued a final order of removal.  “The Internal Revenue Service and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement have entered into a memorandum of understanding to establish a clear and secure process to support law enforcement’s efforts to combat illegal immigration,” a Treasury Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.  COURT ORDER HALTING DEPORTATION FLIGHTS ‘UNCONSTITUTIONALLY IMPEDES’ EXECUTIVE BRANCH, TRUMP ALLIES ARGUE “The bases for this MOU are founded in longstanding authorities granted by Congress, which serve to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans while streamlining the ability to pursue criminals,” the statement said. “After four years of Joe Biden flooding the nation with illegal aliens, President Trump’s highest priority is to ensure the safety of the American people.” A senior Treasury Department official said the illegal immigrants have been given due process but have overstayed 90 days post a judge’s removal order.  The MOU outlines a process to ensure that sensitive taxpayer data information is protected while allowing law enforcement to pursue criminal violations, the official said.  The Treasury Department is committed to protecting the privacy of law-abiding taxpayers, but a criminal exception obligates the agency to assist law enforcement, the senior official said.  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TELLS FEDERAL JUDGE IT MIGHT INVOKE STATE SECRETS ACT ON HIGH-PROFILE DEPORTATION CASE A draft agreement reported last month by the Washington Post said it would limit ICE to confirm the addresses of illegal immigrants who have final removal orders. The deal would allow ICE to submit the names and addresses of illegal immigrants to the IRS, who could then cross-check those immigrants’ tax records and provide the immigration agency with current address information. Some veteran IRS officials have expressed concerns, arguing that the narrow exception was meant only for criminal investigations and not for immigration enforcement. They also worry that the policy will hinder tax collection from illegal immigrants, who are still subject to federal taxes despite being in the country illegally. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The agreement comes as President Donald Trump has continued to ramp up the deportation effort he promised on the campaign trail, while attempting to use every available resource in order to aid immigration authorities.  Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report. 

Trump claims US held direct nuclear talks with Iran

Trump claims US held direct nuclear talks with Iran

President Donald Trump has announced that the United States has begun direct negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme, after Tehran had earlier dismissed Washington’s calls for the talks. “We’re having direct talks with Iran, and they’ve started. It’ll go on Saturday. We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable,” he added, without providing further details. Trump also warned that Iran would be in “great danger” if diplomatic efforts to curb its nuclear ambitions failed, adding that Tehran “can’t have nuclear weapons”. Earlier this month, Trump told NBC News: “If they [Iran] don’t make a deal, there will be bombing”. He added that the bombing would be “the likes of which they have never seen before.” Trump’s announcement of direct talks with Tehran would not be to Netanyahu’s “liking”, as the Israeli leader has long wanted to simply bomb Iran, said Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst. Advertisement “Trump has wanted a deal for a long time,” Bishara said. However, “Netanyahu certainly thinks Iran’s defences have been weakened by last year’s Israeli air strikes on Iran. And he sees this as a great opportunity, with US support, for Israel to finish off Iran.” “In reality, Trump doesn’t want to enter a war with Iran while he is in the midst of trade wars with the rest of the world,” Bishara added. ‘Meaningless talks’ Over the weekend Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi described the prospect of direct negotiations with the US on Tehran’s nuclear programme as “meaningless”. Araghchi’s remarks came after Trump said last month in a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that he hoped there would be a negotiation between the countries. Tehran, which maintains that it is not seeking a nuclear weapon, has so far rejected Washington’s overtures, but has said it is open to indirect diplomacy – a stance repeated by Araghchi in Sunday’s statement. In 2018, during his first presidency, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, which had placed strict curbs on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran says its nuclear activities are solely for civilian purposes. Israel, the US’s top ally in the region, is widely believed to have an undeclared nuclear arsenal. Netanyahu calls for Palestinians to leave Gaza Speaking next to Netanyahu, who has been issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Gaza, Trump suggested that the war in Gaza could soon come to an end. Advertisement “I’d like to see the war stop, and I think the war will stop at some point that won’t be in the too-distant future,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. However, he did not provide specifics on how or when a ceasefire might be reached. Netanyahu claimed that Israel was working on a new agreement following January’s temporary ceasefire, which he broke unilaterally in March before unleashing more bombing on Gaza and killing hundreds more Palestinians. “We’re committed to getting all the hostages out, but also eliminating the evil tyranny of Hamas in Gaza and enabling the people of Gaza to freely make a choice to go wherever they want,” he said. The Israeli leader also said he had discussed with Trump what he called the US president’s “bold vision” for Gaza, referring to a controversial proposal for US control over the enclave. The plan, widely condemned as a blueprint for ethnic cleansing, has drawn sharp criticism internationally. Luciano Zaccara, assistant professor in Gulf politics at Qatar University, said that the comments did not reveal any change in policy towards Gaza. “Both share the belief that fewer people in Gaza is better – for the United States and Israel,” Zaccara told Al Jazeera. The word “ceasefire” barely came up in the media conference, said Zaccara, adding that “Trump’s main focus was business, trade deficits, and corporate deals, including with Israel. He was not paying much attention to Gaza as a whole, except when discussing expelling Palestinians from their land”. Advertisement Turning to Syria, Trump positioned himself as a potential mediator between Israel and Turkiye, despite tensions between Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Any problem that you have with Turkey, I think we can solve, as long as you are reasonable,” Trump told Netanyahu. “I have a very, very good relationship with Turkey and with their leader, and I think we’ll be able to work it out. So I hope that’s not going to be a problem. I don’t think it will be a problem,” added Trump. Trump, who described Erdogan as “very smart”, praised Turkiye’s role in Syria, referring to the overthrow of leader Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December. “Nobody has done in 2,000 years what Turkey has done in Syria,” he said. Israel, which has carried out extensive air strikes against Syrian military targets, remains wary of Turkiye’s growing influence in Syria. Israeli officials fear that a permanent Turkish military presence in Syria could limit their operational freedom to attack Syria. Adblock test (Why?)